I replaced the cup of canola with 1/2 cup olive oil (because I didn’t have canola) and it gave them a great depth of flavor

I filled in with the other half cup of oil by just adding more coconut milk

I only used lite coconut milk – it’s fatty enough anyway!

I used 2.5 bananas (having eaten half on the way home from the gym…) – I don’t think you can have too much banana in a banana muffin!

For next time, I’m going to try to cut down on sugar, which this recipe has a lot of. Overall, this made 24 medium-to-small muffins, which is how I like them – you could easily make one dozen plus a loaf of bread if you wanted.

What better way is there to celebrate the Olympics than by singing to Daft Punk eating the Olympic rings? None. We adapted a classic pineapple upside-down cake to fit into the Olympic spirit, rainbow rings and all. Make your own before the games end on February 23, and let me know how it goes!

Olympic Pineapple Upside-Down Cake(adapted from good old Betty Crocker)

Pat dry 5 pineapple rings – they don’t have to be too dry, just enough so that the color won’t run. In 4 separate containers, mix one drop of food color with a splash of pineapple juice, then lay one ring of pineapple in each color (red, blue, green, and one with a tiny bit of each to make black). Yellow is just the plain pineapple ring. Don’t flip the rings (since we only want the color on the top), but do move them around the container a bit to get all the dye onto them.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat butter in a 10-inch cake pan.

While the butter is melting, combine flour through egg in a mixer, and beat at low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Then beat at high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl as you go.

Arrange pineapple slices color-side-down in the butter, then sprinkle brown sugar in a thin layer over the remaining butter, so there’s either a pineapple or brown sugar coating the entire base of the pan.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove, and immediately invert over a plate, keeping the pan on top for a few minutes. Remove and reveal your pineapples, then serve warm.

Enjoy with a mug of hot cocoa while cheering on your favorite Olympians.

Last weekend, I got to express my undying love for avocados by participating in a cooking contest in my neighborhood: the first annual guac-off at The Painted Burro. It’s exactly what it sounds like – an epic guacamole contest. A bunch of us Yelpers submitted recipes online and the top 12 recipies were chosen to compete in person, with judging by fellow Yelpers and local “celebs” (our Yelp community manager, a city councilor, and the restaurant’s chef).

I didn’t win the contest, but I did have a great time and learned some serious lessons for my next competition.

Lessons learned at the guac-off:

Ask a bajillion questions. Originally, we were going to have to find and pay for the avocados ourselves, and needed to bring a GALLON of guacamole. I was able to talk to the organizer and get the expectations down to a reasonable/not cost-prohibitive level. The restaurant actually gave everyone the avocados in the end, which was amazing.

Have a plan B. Apparently some avocados were not as good depending on what day you got them. I got lucky, but it’s important to always have a backup plan when it comes to your ingredients.

If you don’t know the rules, exploit them. What does “prepare before” mean? Who is stopping you from bringing your own chips? Figure out what your ideal situation looks like, then make it happen. The worst someone can do is tell you to stop (or disqualify you, if it actually is a rule that you’re breaking).

Bacon will always win the popular vote. I mean, it’s bacon. The competition should just end there. Just make sure it’s labeled for the vegetarians in the crowd (there were some seriously unhappy people who didn’t know they were eating meat until later).

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Lots of love to my sous chef Sara – cooking with her was the best part of this day!

Be prepared. Did you think the contest was over when you delivered your goods? WRONG. We then had to plate (which I barely prepared for), present (which I was totally unprepared for) and rally people to win the popular vote (which I was too nervous for). The contest is going until the winner is announced, so you should be prepared for every step of the way.

Don’t store guacamole in a bag. Seriously. Don’t. It’s gross just to watch it get plated. Surely you have some Tupperware somewhere?

Don’t focus too much on winning. I ate some delicious food, spent the day with one of my best friends, and made a new friend who shared her awesome story about meeting her boyfriend on LiveJournal in 2003. Be still, my 11th grade heart!

The makings of a great Sunday afternoon

I’ll definitely be throwing my hat in the ring for future contests – I’ve got my eye on Fluff Fest next year. Let me know if you hear of any other cool competitions in Boston, and share your stories about cooking adventures in the comments below!

Special thanks to my family for brainstorming some very silly names and listening to me make my way through the rules, Sara for helping me make this giant batch o‘ guacamole, and Katie and my coworkers for making good use of the leftovers.

This simple recipe is great for the end of a busy week and can accommodate almost any ingredients you have around. Sub couscous for quinoa, add in other veggies, or include other proteins if you have them handy.

Cook the quinoa – one cup of quinoa to 2-3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 15-20 minutes for liquid is absorbed. Let rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Add the oil, onion, Brussels sprouts, salt/pepper, and half the lemon juice to a frying pan over medium heat. Stir frequently – when the sprouts get bright green, add more lemon juice and bell pepper. Stir for about 7-10 minutes total, until sprouts are cooked but still crunchy.

I could eat it three times a day – eggs for breakfast, cereal for lunch, crepes for dinner. Bring me to a diner at any hour and I am 99.9% likely to order hash and poached eggs. I simply can’t live without a good meal to start off my day. But when I combine my love for breakfast with my tendency to hit snooze a million times (right family?), it gets to be an expensive habit that ends up with me stopped in at Dunks on my way to work.

Luckily, I saw this pin the other day and decided to whip up some planned-ahead breakfasts so I could save some money and time in the morning. These tartlets came out great, and in 45 minutes, I was able to pack up 6 healthy breakfasts to eat and freeze for the week ahead.

3 eggs and 6 egg whites (I use them from the carton) (alternatively, you can use 5 eggs)

Dash skim milk

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a frying pan, heat up 1 tsp olive oil and cook the mushrooms. Cut the chicken sausage into small pieces (1/2 dime sized or so) and add to mushrooms, browning lightly. Remove from pan. Wilt spinach in frying pan. add to mushrooms and sausage.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into lightly greased muffin tins, making sure that each section has all types of filling as well as some liquid.

Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, until edges are browned and tops are solid. Remove from tins and let sit before freezing/storing.

By the end, you should have 12 muffin-sized crustless quiches (mine actually made 5 mini muffins as well – use it all up!) which are each worth 2 PointsPlus each (I recommend two as one serving). In one travel-sized bite, you have cheese, eggs, meat, and veggies, or as I like to call it “perfection.”

These quiches are super versatile to whatever you have in your kitchen – asparagus and red pepper, cheese and more cheese, garlic and onion, you name it. My recommendation: go light on the fat, especially in the cheese. I only had full fat cheddar around, and these were a little more oily than I would usually eat, but they’re still quite healthy and definitely delicious.